The BBC is to broadcast a drama from Hawking writer Peter Moffat, starring Ben Whishaw as a young man imprisoned for murder despite protesting his innnocence.

The five-part drama, called Criminal Justice and due to be shown on BBC1, features Whishaw, star of the recent film Perfume, as Ben Coulter, who wakes to find that a woman he has just slept with has been stabbed to death.

Whishaw's character is unable to remember what happened and the drama follows his life in prison and his encounters with the criminal justice system.

His co-stars include Pete Postlethwaite as a hardened criminal called Hooch and Bill Paterson as the policeman investigating the murder.

Rome actress Lindsay Duncan plays Ben's defence barrister in the drama, which has been commissioned by the BBC Fiction controller, Jane Tranter, and will be shown in the summer.

Kate Harwood, the BBC head of series and serials, said: "This is not a prison, legal or police drama. Peter Moffat has created something beyond these labels.

"He has delivered an exceptional and audacious piece of writing – full of colour, texture and humour. This is a combative, insightful, and sophisticated look at the criminal justice system."

Former barrister Moffat's previous dramas have included the BBC2 film Hawking, about scientist Stephen Hawking, and the BBC1 series Cambridge Spies, as well as the critically lauded but short-lived legal series North Square for Channel 4.

His forthcoming dramas include BBC1's Einstein And Eddington, starring David Tennant and Andy Serkis.

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